LYNN — When asked about day two of the Doug Mullins Memorial Baseball Tournament, St. Mary’s coach Derek Dana was happy with his team’s win, but immediately jumped at the chance to talk about Mullins, a former baseball coach and lifelong Lynn resident who lost a battle to osteosarcoma in 2020 at the age of 34.
“Doug Mullins was a great friend of mine,” said Dana, whose Spartans knocked off Lynn English, 10-4, to win the tournament title for the third consecutive season. “I coached him at (Lynn) Classical – football and baseball – and we became really tight, good friends. Winning this tournament means a lot.”
Speaking of meaning a lot, Saturday’s game at Fraser Field was exactly that for Lynn English, which needed a win to reach the Division 1 state tournament.
But it was no easy task.
“Playing the last game of the year against St. Mary’s,” said English coach Esteban Paula. “It’s always going to be tough. … We’ve got to play clean against these guys.”
And for a while, it was clean – right off the bat in the first inning.
Kenry Manzanillo of the Bulldogs took a hold of one from St. Mary’s pitcher Jack Zimmerman, sending it over the left field fence (1-0, English).
“I think everybody just got really excited. We set the tone in the first inning,” said Paula, whose team kept a 2-1 lead intact through three innings. “When they saw the home run, the confidence set in. We can do this.”
Zimmerman (5 IP, 15 K, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 H) had other plans. He bounced back after getting “a good punch in the face,” according to Dana.
“That’s a great sign to see from someone like that,” Dana said. “This is his first year on varsity and he’s been carrying his weight, for sure.”
A postgame Paula said to beat the Spartans, mistakes must be limited, but English (5 E) committed two errors in the fourth inning, leading to runs from Gabe Diaz and Devin Duval (3-2, St. Mary’s).
Things didn’t get any better in the fifth. Highlighted by Nate Cutone’s two-run triple, St. Mary’s took an 8-2 lead by the end of the inning.
“Nate Cutone connects on a huge hit, clears the bases with an opposite-field triple… we’ve been looking for more of that,” said Dana, whose side roped just two hits against Swampscott in Friday’s Game 1.
But the Bulldogs – with their home faithful cheering them on from behind the dugout – plated two more in the sixth inning (8-4, St. Mary’s).
Better yet, at one point, bases were loaded with one out.
“We had the bases loaded, down by four,” Paula said. “We had a chance right there to put the game close. With one hit, the game would’ve been 8-6 at that point, but… we’ve got to put the ball in play.”
Relief pitcher Jacob Peterson sealed the deal for St. Mary’s, punching out two batters across the final two innings.
“Petey came in and cleaned it up,” Dana said.
The final out was followed by pictures, hugs, and trophy lifting for the Spartans – the only team to have won the tournament since its launch in 2022.
Josh Doney (6 K, 0 ER in Game 1) was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after his performance against Swampscott.
“Josh, the last time out, was outstanding. That was a big-time performance,” Dana said.
Guilmer Galva (3.1 IP) struck out four and allowed just one earned run to lead the Bulldogs, but there was more to the story.
“He got hurt on Tuesday,” Paula said. “Last night, I asked him, ‘Are you good to play?’ and he said, ‘Coach, I’m not going to let the team down.’ I thought that was pretty amazing.”
Peterson (2 H), Michael DeMaino (1-for-1, 2 BB), and Shea Newhall (R, 3 BB) played their part in St. Mary’s win.
Now, it’s tournament time, with brackets being released at approximately 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
“We’ve got to swing the bats better,” Dana said. “We’ll get back to work, find out who we get, and get these guys going.”
